Using unusual tobaccos from countries not known for their tobacco production is a good way to appeal to the novelty-driven cigar smoker. Use fire-cured pipe tobacco in a cigar? Sure, I’ll try it. I might hate it — and I did hate it — but I had to try it. CAO’s Colombia blend relies on a similar device. They claim on the Cigar World website that the CAO Colombia is the “first cigar to prominently feature Colombian tobacco.” Well, it isn’t.

Not only is it not the first cigar to prominently feature Colombian tobacco, but it isn’t even CAO’s first Colombian. Only a few years ago, the CAO Escaparate Colombia was made for Serious Cigars, though admittedly in limited numbers for a limited time. The Escaparate was a Colombian puro, as was the Colombian Gold made by Bravo Cigars that I reviewed many years ago. I loved the Colombian Gold and I’m happy to see a major cigar producer using Colombian tobacco, however it gets to market.

CAO’s Colombia is not a puro like the Escaparate Colombia — not even close, actually. To get to the Colombian we first have to visit the Jamastran valley of Honduras, where the wrapper originates, take a side trip to Cameroon for the binder, swim the Atlantic to Brazil for some Mata Fina long filler, and then finally we arrive the tiny village of Masinga in the Magdalena Department of Colombia. Here is where the ICA Mazinga comes from.

I was a little concerned about this “Ica Mazinga.” Slide the a in “Ica” over to the next word and it’s “IC Amazing”. Uh, yeah. So I had to dig around a bit. ICA turns out to be the acronym for the Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario, the Colombian Agricultural Institute. It seems they are the the ones who developed this variety of black tobacco.

I ran across a document in Spanish that explains a little about ICA Masinga:

ICA-Masinga, an improvement on the Cuban Prieto, produces thin leaves with an abundance of fine veins, good color, texture and aroma; the plant has an average height of 2.20 meters, 40 leaves, and a growth cycle of 150 to 160 days.

The Cubita variety has been cultivated on the Atlantic coast since 1870 using varieties brought from Cuba with the initial goal of catering to the German cigar market. At first it was cultivated in the Departments of Sucre … and later expanded to Magdalena. The principal varieties cultivated have been ICA-Masinga, Cubita 12, Peraltero. Today they are exported to Germany for the production of cigars, and to France, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco for the production of cigarettes.

The CAO Colombia Tinto (robusto) is an attractive cigar with a glossy wrapper the shade of milk chocolate. There are some fine veins, but nothing to detract from this robusto’s uniform appearance. The roll is solid, the draw is easy, and it burns beautifully.

Overall construction: Excellent

Tasting Notes

As the curtain rises the Colombia Tinto goes into a soft-shoe routine that won’t offend anyone: mild notes of cedar overlay a grassy foundation. My first thought is that this is going to make a nice morning companion to my coffee on the patio. After a few puffs I’m impressed by the viscosity of the smoke: by the mid-point of the cigar I’d even call it buttery.

The flavor of this robusto does not undergo a dramatic metamorphosis in its journey to nubdom, but there is a gradual transition across the spectrum of sweetness. The herbal base flavor becomes a little earthier, almost musky, while another dimension of spice is added to the aroma: it’s a sweet woody aroma less sharp than cedar, almost like sandalwood joined by a touch of caramel.

Conclusion

If olfactory memory serves, the CAO Colombia is a lot like Bravo’s now-extinct Colombian Gold. Like that cigar, CAO’s blend is a mild but earthy Cuban-style smoke with great aroma and a nice body. This is a medium-to-full bodied blend but it is mild in strength and flavor. A great breakfast smoke and a perfect choice for the mild cigar enthusiast. To cap it off, the price is surprisingly affordable: $4 to 5 USD per stick (box price).

Friends and family who know I am a cigar smoker were very excited for me when the news of restored relations with Cuba was reported earlier this year. I wanted to be excited too, but instead I had to explain that this diplomatic thaw does not mean the gates to the promised land have been flung wide open. As of today, Cuban imports are still on the U.S. Treasury Department’s hit list.

But what surprised them even more was when I said that legal access to Habanos was not what I’m looking forward to most. What I’m really excited about is the possibility that top Nicaraguan cigar blenders may soon have access to Cuban wrapper leaf. I’ve smoked some fine Habanos, and I’ve smoked some really disappointing Habanos. What gets my heart pumping now is the thought of what a cigar blender like Jose “Don Pepin” Garcia or Arsenio Ramos might do with Nicaraguan fillers and a Cuban capa. A wrapper leaf can change everything.

As an example, Rocky Patel’s Decade utilizes a dark Sumatran leaf grown in Ecuador. The core of the original Decade is Nicaraguan, giving it a nice acidic bite, but the wrapper lends it a maduro-like temperament: it’s rich and sweet with chocolate and cocoa. What happens when that wrapper is switched out for something a little different?

That’s just what Rocky did with the Decade Cameroon. The core of the cigar is the same as the original Decade, and it is made in Plasencia’s El Paraiso factory in Honduras, just like the original. The core blend is still undisclosed (though it is reportedly Nicaraguan.) The difference is the wrapper, and the difference is substantial. The Decade Cameroon was released at least year’s IPCPR convention and is available in three sizes:

Robusto – 5 x 50

Toro – 6 1/2 x 52

Torpedo – 6 1/2 x 52

Construction Notes

For the review I smoked the RP Decade Cameroon in the Robusto and the Toro sizes. Both were well made sticks, but the finishing touches on the Robusto were a little cleaner. The cap on the Robusto was simple but seamless, while the Toro’s was ragged and a little sloppy. The head of the Robusto was almost flat, while the Toro’s was slightly lopsided.

The wrapper is a dark colorado maduro with a few small sunspots. The draw in both sizes was firm but productive and the burn was even and consistent.

Overall Construction: Very Good.

Tasting Notes

The Toro and the Robusto did not vary too much in terms of flavor, though the Toro scored a little higher on the intensity chart. The base flavor is earthy with a little tartness and a touch of black pepper on the tongue. On the nose there is cedar with an overtone of clove.

The sweetness of the original Decade lurks beneath the surface and makes a showing in the second and third stages of the cigar: coffee and brown sugar come to the fore, and as the tartness fades in the last third there is chocolate and maybe even caramel. The big difference here is the minty clove-like spice that comes from the Cameroon wrapper. The Cameroon Decade is every bit as rich and smooth as the original, but it’s a more complex blend of flavors.

Conclusion

Rocky Patel’s Sun Grown Robusto has been my mainstay Rocky smoke for a long time, but in the past couple of years I’ve become disenchanted with it. I don’t know if it’s me, or if it’s the blend, but it just doesn’t taste as bright and smooth as it used to. The Decade Cameroon might be my favorite blend in the RP lineup now. It reminds me a little of the Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series — rich and smooth with that savory Cameroon tang. What a difference a wrapper can make.

At $9 to 10 USD per stick, the Decade Cameroon is not a cheap date, but this is no fast food cigar. It has considerable competition in that price range: the aforementioned Partagas and Fuente’s Don Carlos line perform similar tricks with Cameroon wrapper. But on a good day I think the Decade Cameroon can keep pace with those big dogs.

Details on the Carnavale are a bit scarce, but the cigar itself is a bit scarce: released in 2014, production was initially limited to 500 boxes per year, but then it was increased to 1000. The cigar is made in Honduras for Epicurean Cigars and distributed by the House of Emilio.

The blend is complex: the wrapper is an habano oscuro grown in Jalapa, Nicaragua; two binders are utilized, a Pennsylvania broadleaf (yes!) doubled up with a leaf from Honduras, and the filler is a Nicaraguan blend (Jalapa and Esteli.) Five sizes are in very limited production:

Lancero – 6 1/2 x 38

Petite Corona – 5 1/2 x 48

Toro – 6 x 52

Tabajador – 5 x 52

Double Robusto – 5 x 56

Construction Notes

The Double Robusto is a smooth maduro-colored cigar with a somewhat garish band. This is obviously the cigar to be seen with on Bourbon Street. The cigar is square pressed with a double wound cap on a nearly flat head. The cigar is very firm and the draw offers light resistance. The burn is slightly uneven, but not problematic.

Overall construction: Very good.

Tasting Notes

The wrapper on the Carnavale is an habano oscuro, but you could have fooled me. This cigar tastes like a maduro through and through. It opens with bittersweet chocolate and cedar on the nose, while grassy flavors entertain the palate. The smoke is very smooth, but also fairly dry.

The flavors maintain their balance and complexity without too much transition in the second half, though the chocolate takes on more coffee-like characteristics and the light peppery spice evident in the first half builds and peaks in the latter half. Both the body and the strength of the cigar land in the mild to medium range.

Conclusion

When is a maduro not a maduro? When it’s an Epicurean Carnavale. The Carnavale is a high quality maduro-style cigar that isn’t a maduro, but it sure smokes like one. It reminded me of a lighter version of the Draig Cayuquero, an Emilio blend even scarcer than the Carnavale, but both cigars are worth seeking out.

The Carnavale wasn’t quite the revelation that the Draig was, but it’s a fine smoke in its own right. If only the price were just as right — $10 USD. That’s a bit of a stretch for me. As it is, I’d still be happy to have a few on hand. Complex yet mild maduro (style) cigars aren’t all that easy to find.

Final Score: 89

]]>http://cigarfan.net/2015/05/15/carnavale-by-epicurean-cigars/feed/5Carnavale 3cigarfanCarnavale by EpicureanCarnavale 2Carnavale 3Punch Signature Robustohttp://cigarfan.net/2015/04/27/punch-signature-robusto/
http://cigarfan.net/2015/04/27/punch-signature-robusto/#commentsMon, 27 Apr 2015 03:35:25 +0000http://cigarfan.net/?p=6512]]>
The first time I smoked a Punch cigar I was expecting a wallop that never arrived. It’s called Punch for a reason right? Yes, it is, but that’s not the reason.

Punch ultimately derives its name from the “Punch and Judy” puppet shows that were popular in England and France in the 18th and 19th centuries. The plots of the shows were always improvised, but they ran along a familiar line. Punch, an abysmally inept caretaker, is left in charge of the Baby while his wife, Judy, exits momentarily on an errand of some sort. She returns to discover Punch sitting on the poor puppet child, or she finds out that the infant has been run through the sausage machine, or some other unutterable abuse has occurred, upon which she flies into a rage. After assaulting Punch with a conveniently placed implement, a policeman appears, a fight breaks out, and slapstick ensues. Other characters occasionally appear: crocodiles, ghosts, Toby the Dog, et al., and then the show concludes with a battle between Punch and the Devil. Naturally, Punch escapes the retribution that the Dark Puppet has arrived to exact.

Charles Dickens said, “In my opinion the street Punch is one of those extravagant reliefs from the realities of life which would lose its hold upon the people if it were made moral and instructive.” So don’t go looking for a moral to this story.

The character that appears on the band of the Punch Signature cigar is Punchinello, as he is depicted in the 18th century British humor magazine, which borrowed the character from the well-known street shows.

None of which has to do with the power of a cigar. The Punch Signature might change all that.

Agustin Garcia, the blender of the Punch Signature, says that the Punch Signature was inspired by the original Punch blend, but it is clearly a much different cigar. He asks us to “think of it as a brother who has a lot of fire in him, but also respects tradition and the family name.” Truth be told, I think this brother might have been adopted.

Punch Signature was built around an Ecuadorian corojo wrapper specially cultivated for this blend. The binder is a proprietary Connecticut Habano, and the filler is Dominican and Nicaraguan, “of the same variety as the original Punch blend.” The blend is composed of both aged and younger leaf to achieve a balance between the flavor of the old and the strength of the young.

Four sizes are in production:

Robusto – 5 x 54

Rothschild – 4 1/2 x 50

Torpedo – 5 3/4 x 52

Gigante – 6 x 60

Construction Notes

The Robusto is about as well made as one could expect — and one does expect this from General Cigar. The wrapper is a dark and oily colorado maduro. The head is nicely rounded and clips well, but the cap is a little messy. Examining the business end of the cigar I notice swirls of darker tobacco in the filler bunch.

The roll is solid, the draw is excellent, and the burn is slow. The ash is firm and yellowish gray, but a little flaky on the surface. This is easily a 90 minute smoke for me. Aside from the occasionally sloppy cap, the construction values here are above par.

Overall construction: Excellent

Tasting Notes

A burst of black pepper coats the tongue and palate in the first segment of the Signature Robusto. There is some astringency here that I associate with Nicaraguan blends, but there is also a lot of leather in the aroma. The pepper gradually subsides, making way for flavors of leather and seared meat. There is a barbecue-like quality to this cigar, a burnt fatty char similar to what you get from the Maillard reaction when searing a good steak.

The aftertaste is earthy and the pepper returns for an encore, but for the most part the flavors don’t change too much. It’s not a subtle smoke, and would probably make a good companion at the grill.

Conclusion

The Punch Signature is a cigar that truly lives up the pugilistic character that the Punch name suggests. It calls for a hearty meal beforehand and a drink that can speak truth to power for about an hour and a half running. MSRP is in the $6-7 USD range. That’s not out of line, though it has some serious competition at that price.

Final Score: 88

Special thanks to General Cigar for providing samples of the Punch Signature Robusto for review.

Espinosa Habano was the first cigar to be made in La Zona, Erik Espinosa’s new factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. EO Brands, formerly owned and operated by Espinosa in concert with Eddie Ortega, broke up a few years ago. Both are producing blends on their own now: Espinosa is still producing 601, Murcielago, and Mi Barrio, and Ortega still has Cubao, my favorite of the old EO brands. But as we know, nothing remains static in the cigar world, so both cigar makers have new blends that are quickly gaining in stature.

The early EO Brands were made by the Garcia family. That is not an easy act to follow, but Espinosa is keeping the key construction features of those cigars, including entubado rolling and triple-seam caps.

Details of the composition of the Espinosa Habano are a bit cloudy. According to Cigar Aficionado and its affiliate publication Cigar Insider, the blend employs Nicaraguan binder and filler leaves with a “mid-to-low priming Ecuador Habano” wrapper. According to Halfwheel.com, the cigar is a Nicaguan puro with a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper. According to the source, it’s nunya business. Espinosa ain’t talking.

It seems I have no choice but to implement my own enhanced interrogation and lay some fire on the feet of these resistant subjects.

Four sizes are in regular production:

Robusto – 5 x 52

Toro- 6 x 52

Belicoso- 6 1/8 x 52

Trabuco – 6 x 60

Construction Notes

The golden brown wrapper on the Espinosa Habano Toro is attractively smooth but a little bit fragile. The widely spaced views are a good indication that the wrapper is Ecuadorian, but whatever it is, it’s fine looking stick. The roll is solid, but a little bit bumpy, perhaps due to the delicate nature of the capa leaf. The head is neatly finished with a triple cap.

One of the toros I smoked had a perfect draw; the other was not plugged, but it was almost too tight to smoke. In both cases the wrapper was reluctant to burn in sync with the rest of the cigar, and then it cracked. My experience is that a blender will often discount a wrapper’s flaws when the aromatic qualities outweigh them, and that seems to be what is going on here.

Overall construction: Fair, based on two samples.

Tasting Notes

The Toro opens with lots of black pepper and earth on the palate. The smoke is a little dry, but the flavors are sharp. On the nose there is an oaky vanilla with a touch of cocoa. The smoke texture is almost creamy at times; the combination of pepper and cream reminds me a little of another of Espinosa’s cigars: the 601 Connecticut.

The flavors don’t transition too much until the last stage of the cigar, but they are complex throughout. The pepper and earth continue strong on the palate but the aroma gets a little sweeter, adding cedar and a fruity element that I can’t quite identify. The aftertaste remains earthy and the finish is long.

The cigar is about medium in strength, but it flexes its muscles a bit in the last couple of inches. The last stage is packed with pepper and earth until it begins to char at the finish line.

Conclusion

The wrapper leaf on the Espinosa Habano is finicky, but oh so tasty. The combination of pepper and cream is unusual, but this toro pulls it off…like peanut butter and sriracha. I have some concerns about the cigar’s construction that require further research, but the flavors are exceptional. At around $6 USD it’s a bit above my everyday smoke range, but the complexity of flavor is commensurate with the price.

Sequels are not always a good idea on the creative side, but they are irresistible to both producers and consumers. Movies, TV shows — anything capable of continuation or spinoff demands a sequel when the original is a success. Cigars are no different, and we see this with brand extensions all the time. My Father Cigars had a hit in 2012 with Flor de Las Antillas, so they did the natural thing — they followed up on the success of that blend with another one and called it La Antiguidad.

I don’t think the Garcias are capable of making a mediocre smoke (barring the bargain market stuff) but I was expecting more from Flor de las Antillas. After all the hype and the stellar reviews (and the eventual 2012 Cigar of the Year crown bestowed on it by Cigar Aficionado) I was expecting a bit more. I’m still waiting for a My Father blend that revives the magic of the Rey de los Habanos years. So far I haven’t found it.

But the prospect of a new blend from “Don Pepin” and Jaime Garcia is enough to dry my tears, even if it is a sequel to a cigar I was slightly disappointed in. La Antiguedad plays on the same theme as Flor de Las Antillas — the 19th century Cuban artwork, the red cloth foot band, and the box press — but it is a somewhat bolder cigar.

All of the filler tobaccos in La Antiguidad, as well as the double binder, are grown on the Garcia farms in Nicaragua. The wrapper is an Ecuadoran Habano leaf described as “rosado oscuro,” which sounds to me like “colorado maduro,” but I will leave that distinction to the experts. The fillers are from three distinct regions in Nicaragua — San Rafael, Las Quebradas, and San Jose. The binders (two of ’em) are Nicaraguan criollo and corojo.

The cigar is made in five sizes, all box-pressed:

Robusto – 5 1/4 x 52

Toro – 5 5/8 x 55

Corona Grande – 6 3/8 x 47

Super Toro – 7 x 56

Toro Gordo – 6 x 60

Construction Notes

With its bright red foot ribbon and incredibly ornate band, the Antiguidad Toro is a fine looking cigar. The wrapper is colorado maduro in shade (or rosado oscuro, if you like) with widely spaced veins. It glistens with a slight sheen of oil. The cigar is box-pressed, but sharply enough to call it a square press. The head is nicely formed, but the triple-wound cap is not as perfect as the Pepin cigars of yore. The draw is excellent and the burn slow. The only criticism I can make on this front is that the ash was a little flaky.

Overall construction: Excellent.

Tasting Notes

La Antiguidad opens with a healthy churn of the peppermill, which is not a surprise from this cigar maker. After five or ten minutes the pepper wears off enough to detect some cocoa, along with leather and a hint of honey on the nose. The tannins are strong, lending a citric tartness to the flavor and creating a dry sensation on the palate.

Over the course of the cigar the cocoa, leather, and tart flavors bob and weave around an earthy core which makes its presence known primarily in the aftertaste. By the end of the cigar the pepper has returned, and it finishes with a nice little punch to the gut. The smoke texture is medium to full, and the strength builds from moderate to quite potent in the last round.

Conclusion

La Antiguidad deserves a place in the humidor next to other My Father heavyweights like the Don Pepin Blue and My Father Le Bijou, though I’d say it has more nuance than either of those. It’s not a towering thunderhead, but it packs a nice little punch. More importantly, there is enough complexity here to keep my interest for an hour and half or so. MSRP is in the $8 USD range, which is about right for a cigar of this quality.

It’s not a return to the reign of Rey de Los Habanos, but it’s fine cigar nevertheless.

Bodega Premium Blends were launched in 2013 and are now distributed by the illustrious House of Emilio. The theme chosen to promote the brand is a common one in the cigar world: friendship, fellowship, and brotherhood of the leaf.

The company has a strong presence in social media — Facebook, Twitter, and a well-kempt website. The Aperitivo and Digestivo blends are cigars designed in tandem to mimic the roles that cocktails or liqueurs usually play in the culinary sphere. The Aperitivo is a lighter cigar with a Nicaraguan Jalapa wrapper, while the Digestivo features a hearty San Andres Maduro. These bodacious Bodegas are packaged in boxes containing both blends — 10 of each — and they are produced in three sizes:

Toro – 6 x 52

Double Robusto – 5 x 54

Corona Gorda – 5 1/2 x 46

For this review I smoked one of each in the Corona Gorda size.

Construction Notes

Both of these Bodegas are attractive and solid, with nicely finished, rounded heads. Both burn slowly, evenly, and leave a firm ash. The only difference in appearance, aside from the band, is that the Aperitivo has a dark colorado maduro wrapper with a little gloss to it, while the Digestivo looks like a more classic maduro.

Overall construction: Independently and collectively excellent.

Tasting Notes

As the preprandial cigar, the Aperitivo is a suitably lighter smoke than the Digestivo. It opens with some cedar and a shake of powdered sugar sweetness. The smoke texture is smooth, but not light. Despite the mellow timbre of the smoke there’s still some chew here.

As it burns the aroma becomes noticeably floral — violets maybe — with just a touch of spice on the nose. In the next section the cigar picks up some earthy notes but remains light on the palate. The scale tips toward cedar and away from the floral flavors until the last third, where light roasted coffee flavors take over. Some sweetness lingers even into the last part of the cigar, which is a nice change of pace for me. The aftertaste is quite mild even to the end, which is very much appreciated by the chef preparing your meal. (Assuming your chef is not working up a sweat in the local taqueria.)

After the champagne has been drained and the capon consumed, the Digestivo arrives to put everything in place. It is naturally a heavier cigar, though the weight is concentrated in its flavor rather than its smoke texture or nicotine payload. The opening flavors are tangy, but still sweet — though not sweet in the light and floral manner of the Aperitivo. Licorice and cherry notes emerge at times through a spicy aroma. The flavor on the palate is crisp, almost minty, but with a Nicaraguan bite. Chocolate predominates in the last third, as the San Andres Maduro wrapper insists on having its say.

Conclusion

Both of these Bodega Reunion cigars are excellent smokes, but I particularly enjoyed the complexity of the Aperitivo. With its mild aftertaste it fulfills its role as an aperitif, but it could also serve as an opulent morning cigar.

The Digestivo is much richer, and more appropriate as an after-dinner smoke, but it also exhibits more complexity than the average maduro. Not to mention they both showed flawless construction qualities.

But this complexity and quality comes with a price: $10 USD a pop. I liked the Digestivo just fine, but for a special occasion when a cigar before dinner is on the menu, I’ll be looking for the Reunion Aperitivo.

For another opinion, be sure to check out Jeff’s review of these blends at Casas Fumando.

]]>http://cigarfan.net/2015/02/09/bodega-reunion-aperitivo-and-digestivo/feed/3cigarfanBodega Reunion 1aBodega Reunion 2aBodega Reunion Digestivo 2Bodega Reunion 3aSindicato Madurohttp://cigarfan.net/2014/12/28/sindicato-maduro/
http://cigarfan.net/2014/12/28/sindicato-maduro/#commentsSun, 28 Dec 2014 00:17:54 +0000http://cigarfan.net/?p=6434]]>Last summer I had the chance to smoke and review what would become my 2014 Cigar of the Year — the Sindicato Corona Gorda. A combined performance in both construction and flavor earned that cigar 94 points and a trip up the aisle to collect the trophy. Instead of a speech, however, the folks at Sindicato and blender Arsenio Ramos are giving us a lagniappe: another Sindicato, this time in maduro.

The original Sindicato with its Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper certainly made an impression on me, so I was eager to try the same blend with a maduro wrapper. This time around it’s a San Andres Morron. (Morron refers to a chestnut shade of dark brown.) The internal components appear to be the same as the natural Sindicato: a double binder from Esteli and filler from Esteli and Jalapa, all Aganorsa tobacco from Eduardo Fernandez’s farms in Nicaragua. The sizes are also the same.

Corona Gorda: 5 1/2 x 48

Toro: 6 x 54

Churchill: 7 x 52

Magnum: 6 x 60

Belicoso: 6 1/8 x 54

Robusto: 5 x 54

Construction Notes

The wrapper is typical of high quality maduro — thick and rough, with signs of a rugged and thorough maturation process. The shade is darker than the word “morron” suggests: there isn’t much chestnut in this maduro, just rich earthy maduro browny-blackness. The foot of the cigar is unfinished, but not ragged, and the head is capped with a pig tail. The cigar is square pressed, just like the natural version, which is sometimes a concern because it tends to promote an uneven burn. Not in this case, however. The Sindicato Maduro burns just as evenly and easily as its natural counterpart, though maybe a bit slower. A long light gray ash builds and taps off in the ashtray with some hesitance after a couple inches. Clearly a well made cigar.

Overall construction: Excellent

Tasting Notes

The Sindicato Maduro opens with the hallmark flavor of San Andres maduro: chocolate. There is a hint of pepper here as well, but the first few puffs are predominately bittersweet baker’s chocolate. The smoke is medium to full in texture and has a slightly tannic aftertaste. After a few minutes woody flavors become noticeable below the sweetness of the aroma.

Midway through the cigar the sweetness of the chocolate gives way to dark roasted coffee flavors. There is an increasing spiciness, but in addition to the pepper that you’d expect from a Nicaraguan cigar there is also a hint of mint or eucalyptus. Not much, just a fleeting hint to add unexpected complexity, which is somewhat rare for a maduro blend.

The finale of the cigar turns dark; the woodiness becomes earthy, and the cigar starts to wind down. The subtleties are overtaken by black pepper and at the very end the smoke becomes a little burnt tasting. The lights come up, the audience applauds.

Conclusion

There is hardly any difference in quality between the Sindicato natural and the Maduro blend. I would liken it to the difference between the natural and maduro versions of the Padron Anniversary 1964 — both are excellent, well-made cigars, and both have a reputation beyond question. I am one of the few who favor the natural 1964 over the maduro, and I do the same with the Sindicato.

The Sindicato Maduro is smooth, rich, and it exhibits a great deal more complexity than I had expected. The base flavors are typical of Nicaraguan cigars, but better behaved, and the aroma is full of chocolate and coffee — just what we crave in a maduro. It isn’t as complex as the natural Sindicato, which is why I lean towards the natural, but this is one of the better maduros I’ve smoked this year.

Both blends run in the $11-13 range. Try them both and enjoy an embarrassment of riches.

Two iconic cigar makers clash in a battle of titans: Nestor Placencia versus Manuel “Manolo” Quesada, distinguished gentlemen of the leaf. Their choice of weapon: Nicaraguan tobacco from the Jalapa Valley.

That’s how it was supposed to be. But then I learned that the wrapper used by Quesada for his Jalapa blend is in fact from one of Plasencia’s farms. So instead of a cataclysmic battle of the ages we have some kind of royal intermarriage. I guess I’ll have to leave the battling tobaqueros to the ads in the cigar catalogs.

But I still can’t resist comparing the Quesada Jalapa to the Plasencia-driven Montecristo Espada. Both employ Jalapa tobacco to great advantage. Does one do it better?

Quesada Jalapa

The Quesada Jalapa has its roots in a cigar I’ve only read about: the Quesada Selección España. It was designed for the Spanish market exclusively, but when American cigar heavyweights had an opportunity to try it at the ProCigar festival in 2011, they reportedly went bananas over it. The problem is that Quesada could not increase production of the Selección España because the wrapper, an Ecuadorian Arapiraca, is rare and in short supply. So he went looking for an alternative to the Arapiraca. He found it in Jalapa. In one of Nestor Plasencia’s barns. Plasencia had produced the wrapper in 2002 as an experiment, and he had a few hundred bales just waiting around for Quesada to discover.

The binder and fillers employed for the Quesada Jalapa are the same as the ones used in the Seleccion Espana: the binder is Dominican, and the fillers are Dominican and Nicaraguan. The only difference is the wrapper, which is Plasencia’s Jalapa. The blend is made in three sizes:

Belicoso – 6 1/8 x 52

Robusto – 47/8 x 50

Prominente – 7 5/8 x 49

Construction Notes

The Belicoso is a stately looking cigar, solid with a soft claro wrapper through which the texture of the binder shows. The tip is rolled well, though I have had a few of these split at the head after spending a few months in 70% humidity. The draw is good to excellent. The cigar burns slowly and evenly.

Overall construction: Very good.

Tasting Notes

The Quesada Jalapa is a creamy and aromatic cigar with just a touch of pepper on the finish. The base flavor is earthy — even mushroomy at times — with an occasional whiff of sulfur. The earthy flavor turns musky in due course, complemented by a woody aroma with some floral notes.

The smoke texture is full, creamy, and well balanced. The cigar picks up an extra shake of black pepper in the last lap, but aside from this there are no dramatic transitions. Consistent, tasty, and moderately complex.

Montecristo Espada

The Espada is Montecristo’s first Nicaraguan puro, blended by Nestor Placencia in concert with Altadis’s “Grupo de Maestros.” The name of the cigar is a tribute to the Montecristo insignia depicting crossed swords in a triangular pattern — espada is the Spanish word for sword.

The wrapper is a habano-seed leaf grown in Jalapa. The binder and a good part of the filler are also from Placencia’s Jalapa farms, bolstered by tobaccos from Condega and the volcanic island of Ometepe. The cigar is made in the Placencia S.A factory in three sizes (the frontmarks are technical names for parts of the guard section of a sword) :

Ricasso – 5 x 54

Guard – 6 x 50

Quillon – 7 x 56

Construction Notes

The Espada is made with the craftsmanship expected of a Montecristo — an attractive golden brown wrapper, a perfectly executed flat cap, a solid roll and a draw with just the right amount of resistance.

Overall construction: Excellent

Tasting Notes

The Espada Guard is similar in one respect to the Quesada Jalapa: the smoke texture is rich and creamy. But the Espada is spicier, and it packs a bigger punch. Black pepper blends with oak on the nose and earth on the palate. The smoke is smooth and refined, but more assertive than the Quesada. As the Guard burns to the finish the flavors intensify but don’t transition too much. The cigar is refined, well balanced and expressive, but not tremendously complex.

Conclusion

Montecristo’s Jalapa entry is everything I expect from a Montecristo — it’s a sophisticated and classy smoke, but predictable. Predictably good, but not as adventurous or unique as I’d hoped. Quesada’s Jalapa is a bit milder than the Espada, but it makes up for this with complexity.

The Quesada is also a little less expensive, coming in at around $8 USD to the Montecristo’s $11. Both are excellent cigars, but in my opinion the complexity of Quesada’s Jalapa trumps the refinement of Placencia’s Montecristo. But since the wrapper leaf on the Quesada bears the stamp of Placencia, I have to say that both cigar makers come out on top.

Attentive readers will have noticed that the number of reviews on this blog has fallen precipitously over the past few years. Some readers may wonder, why does he bother at all? Why doesn’t he just shut up and watch the game? (Wait, though. Maybe he’s a Vikings fan.)

Well, I’ll tell you. I am a Vikings fan, but that’s not it.

Sometimes I’ll smoke a cigar and think, this is pretty good, maybe I should review this one. But time goes on, the Vikings lose again, and the inspiration simply isn’t there. But there are times when the spirit moves me, when I feel called to review a cigar because it is distinctive and exceptional and it just isn’t getting the attention it deserves. I can say that is the case with nearly every blend I’ve smoked from the House of Emilio.

The Nomad and Rodrigo blends are members of that esteemed House, which distributes and promotes some of the finest boutique cigars in production today.

Nomad S-307 Robusto

Nomad Cigars debuted in 2012, focusing on Dominican tobacco. It didn’t take long before Nomad founder Fred Rewey was drawn by the lure of Esteli and the production of a limited edition Nicaraguan blend was in the works. The S-307 was the first full production Nicaraguan cigar for Nomad. The heart of the cigar is, of course, Nicaraguan, but the binder is Ecuadorian Habano and the wrapper is Ecuadorian Sumatra. (The S in the brand name stands for Sumatra.) The cigar is produced in the A.J. Fernandez factory and is available in five sizes:

Toro – 6 x 50

Robusto – 5 x 50

Torpedo – 6 1/2 x 52

Toro Grande – 6 x 58

Corona – 5 1/2 x 46

Construction Notes

The S-307 Robusto is square pressed with a mottled, fairly dark colorado maduro wrapper. The roll is solid and it draws well. It’s a nice looking stick, and it burns evenly, which is always a pleasant surprise in a pressed cigar. The long, solid gray ash is another bonus. Overall construction: Excellent.

Tasting Notes

The cigar opens with leather on the nose and a long peppery finish on the palate. The pepper diminishes after the first inch or so and it develops a sweeter profile: cocoa and caramel over an earthy foundation. The S-307 is a medium bodied cigar with considerable complexity, and after the first bout of pepper the smoke is quite smooth. It’s a little less boisterous and a little less tannic than the typical Nicaraguan cigar, which allows the flavor development to go in a more interesting and unexpected direction. There aren’t too many cigars that can balance leather, earth, and sweetness this well. A very nice smoke.

Rodrigo Boutique Blend G4

Rodrigo Cigars began when founder George Rodriguez stumbled upon former Davidoff blender William Ventura on a tourist foray into Santiago, D.R. The story Rodriguez tells on his website is one of smoky serendipity. He went to Santiago to learn about cigars, and simply chanced on the man who would later make Rodrigo for him. Fortuitous happenstance, or destiny? Whichever it is, the Boutique Blend is Rodrigo’s “answer to the large ring cigar.” I’m not sure what the question was, but the blend is Dominican with a Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, and of course the cigar is made in Ventura’s factory in three large-ring sizes:

G4 – 6 1/4 x 54

G5 – 5 1/2 x 56

G6 – 6 x 60

Construction Notes

The Boutique Blend G4 has the smallest ring gauge of its brethren, but it’s still a big ol’ cigar. The rough colorado claro wrapper is set off nicely by its red and gold band. The roll is solid and the head is finished with a workman-like rounded head. It draws well. It burns evenly. It’s made the way every cigar should be made. Overall construction: Excellent.

Tasting Notes

The Rodrigo Boutique Blend is smooth with a creamy texture. The foundation flavor is woody with just enough tannin to provide a nice pucker on the palate. The aromatics are cedary with some baking spice accents. As the cigar progresses to its conclusion it passes through the woods into earthier territory, but the cedar on the nose lingers and blends nicely through the transition. It’s a fairly mild cigar, a suitable cap to a luxurious breakfast.

Conclusion

The Nomad S-307 and the Rodrigo Boutique Blend are two totally different types of cigars, so there’s no comparing them except in terms of their overall performance, which is exemplary in both cases. The S-307 was the more interesting cigar for me, but it’s a slightly heavier smoke with more flavor resources at its disposal. The Rodrigo Boutique Blend is just as distinguished in its class. There is no reason to reach for one of the industry standard Connecticut-shade breakfast smokes if the Rodrigo is an available option. These are both great smokes, and both are highly recommended.